Combined flexible walled bag and pouring spout



Jan. 22, 1957 M. H. KLAUSMANN 2,778,546

COMBINED FLEXIBLE WALL-ED BAG AND POURING SPOUT Filed Dec. 4, 1953 United States Patent COMBINED FLEXIBLE WALLED BAG AND POURING SPOUT Milton H. Klausmann, Maplewood, N. J., assignor to Seal-Spout Corporation, Newark, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 4, 1953, Serial No. 396,146

1 Claim. (Cl. 222-531) This invention relates to containers or receptacles such as disclosed in Patent No. 2,011,434 and more particularly to new and useful improvements in a paper bag having a combined closure and pouring spout connected to one wall thereof for movement relative thereto so as to in one position serve as a closure for a pouring opening in the bag and in another position serve as a spout for pouring the contents of the bag through said opening.

In bags made of paper, fabric or like tearable or flexible material it has been found difiicult, if not impossible, to mount a metal pouring spout on a wall thereof so that the spout cannot be accidentally pulled or detached from the bag or pushed accidentally entirely through the pouring opening into the bag, due to tearing or collapsing of the material around the pouring opening under excessive force caused for example by attaching the spout to the bag or by pulling the spout into open position or by the contact of one bag or container with another while the bags or containers are being transported or stacked, or by a blow on the spout or upon the bag near the pouring opening during handling and distribution of the bag by a store-keeper.

A prime object of my present invention is to provide a paper bag with a reinforced wall portion for mounting the pouring spout whereby the possibility of damage to the bag or to the spout by pressure upon the spout or the bag adjacent the spout during attachment of the spout to the bag, or during opening and closing of the spout or during transportation or distribution of the bag, shall be reduced to the minimum.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a bag and pouring spout embodying novel and improved features of construction whereby accidental displacement or disconnection of the spout from the container during both transportation and use shall be practically impossible.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a bag and pouring spout of the character described wherein the pouring opening shall be of adequately and proper'pou'ring capacity but only partially formed during manufacture of the bag, and the spout shall be of such construction and so connected to the reinforced portion of the wall of the bag that the bag shall effectually resist pressure applied to the spout or to the bag adjacent the spout during transportation and distribution of the bag and prevent the bag from being torn or damaged around the pouring opening and the spout from being pushed into the bag through the pouring opening, the pouring opening to be completed by the initial movement of the spout into pouring position and the spout to serve thereafter in another position as a closure for the pouring opening, and to provide such a construction wherein the spout shall be positively held against accidental opening during transportation by positive connection of the spout directly to the reinforced portion of the wall of the bag.

Other objects are to provide such a paper bag and pouring spout embodying novel and improved features of construction wherein the pouring opening shall be par- 2,778,546 Patented Jan. 22, 1957 tially formed in such a manner during the manufacture of the bag and the spout shall be so constructed and connected to the bag, that when the spout is moved initially into its open position the material of the bag within the boundaries of the pouring opening shall be displaced to complete the pouring opening and form a tab integrally connected at one end to the bag, at one end of the pouring opening, and said spout shall be permanently connected to said tab so that the tab shall restrain the spout against disconnection from the bag; to provide a bag and spout of the character described which shall be simple, strong, durable in construction and which can be easily and quickly assembled; and to obtain other advantages and results as will be brought out by the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawing in which corresponding and like parts are designated throughout the several views by the same reference characters,

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a combined paper bag and pouring spout constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is a similar rear elevational view thereof,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line 44 of Figure 2, on an enlarged scale.

Figure 5 is a similar view but showing the spout opened.

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the plane of the line 66 of Figure 2, on an enlarged scale. C Figure 7 is a smiliar view but showing the spout opened.

Specifically describing the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the reference numeral 1 designates a bag formed of paper, fabric or any other material which is tearable or flexible. The-bag may be of any desired form and is shown as closed at its top by flaps 2 and 3.

According to the present invention, adjacent the top of the bag, a piece or plate 4 of cardboard of an area equal to a small fraction of the area of the bag wall is suitably fastened in flatwise abutting relation to the inner surface of one wall of the bag by adhesive or in any other suitable manner and serve to reinforce and thicken the wall of the bag at this point. The cardboard piece is shown approximately square in outline but it may be of any desired shape. The wall of the bag and the cardboard piece 4 are formed with pairs of parallel slits 5 and 6 cut therethrough. s

A feature of the invention is the novel construction and mounting of a spout 7 on the cardboard piece 4 and wall of the bag for pouring the contents of the bag. The spout may be made of any suitable material but preferably consists of a single thin sheet of metal. The spout is shown as including an approximately rectangular-shaped body portion 8 of an area less than the area of said reinforcing piece 4 to overlie the portion of the wall of the bag between the slits 5. The spout also has sector-shaped side wings 9 projecting approximately at right angles to the body portion 8 and having curved edges 10. In applying the spout to the bag, one of the sector-shaped side wings 9 is inserted through each of the aligned slits 5 and 6 so as to frictionally engage the outer walls thereof. The body portion 8 of the spout, at points spaced from its bottom edge 11 as viewed in Figure 2 is also firmly connected to the wall of the bag and to the cardboard piece between the slits 5 and 6, when the spout is initially applied to the bag. This connection is shown in the drawing as consisting of a single pointed prong 12 cen trally of the body portion S of the spout adjacent its bottom edge, and of a pair of spaced aligned upper prongs 13, one upper prong being on each side of the lower prong. The prongs are forced through the material of the wall of the bag and of the cardboard piece and are clinched over the inner surface of the cardboard piece 4 as shown in Figure 3 so that the pointed end of the lower prong points upwardly and the pointed ends of the upper prongs point downwardly with the base portions of the upper prongs being in a horizontal line. The base portions of the upper prongs thus form aligned slits 14 in the material of the bag and of the cardboard piece, respectively, which slits 14 together with the slits and 6 partially form the outline of a pouring opening.

With such a construction, combination and arrangement of the bag and spout, during manufacture thereof the spout is positively and firmly connected to the bag on the outside thereof and overlies the slits 5 and a portion of the wall of the bag between said slits, and the pouring opening is only partially formed and outlined by the slits. The portions of the wall of the bag and of the cardboard piece between the slits prevent the spout from being pushed into the bag and also tend to prevent any injury to the bag around the spout, for example from pressure or blows applied to the bag around the spout or to the spout while the bags are being stacked or transported or handled by a Storekeeper. Also, the spout is held against pulling out or away from the bag through the connection of the spout to the wall of the bag and to the cardboard piece by the prongs 12 and 13.

When it is desired to open the bag to pour the contents therefrom, the top end of the spout as viewed in Figure 2 is forcibly pulled outwardly from the wall of the bag to the position shown in Figures 5 and 7, the bottom end edge 11 serving as a hinge point. This results in the tearing of the portion 15 of the material between the slits 5 of the bag and of the portion 16 of the material between the slits 6 of the cardboard piece 4 so as to form a twoply tab 17 which is integrally connected to the wall of the bag and to the cardboard piece at the end of the tab adjacent the bottom end edge 11 of the spout. In this manner, the pouring opening 18 is completed as shown in Figures 5 and 7, and the spout is hingedly connected to the bag so as to swing about the bottom end edge of the spout body. In one position as shown in Figures 5 and 7, the spout is open so that the contents of the bag may be poured through the pouring opening, while in another position when the spout lies fiat upon the bag, the pouring opening is closed by the spout.

In order to limit swinging movement of the spout to open position, I provide lugs 19 formed integrally on the Outer sides of the side Wings 9 adjacent their pointed ends and extending laterally to engage the inner side of the cardboard strip 4 adjacent the edges of the pouring opening 18. Movement of the spout into the bag through the pouring opening may be limited in the usual way by an extension 2t) on the free end of the spout to abut against the outer surface of the wall of the bag at the corresponding end of the pouring opening.

It will be observed that the combined bag and spout is simple and inexpensive in construction and that the spout can easily and quickly be applied to the bag during manufacture. There is little danger of the spout being pushed into the container or bag or the bag being injured around the pouring opening during transportation and distribution of the bag and spout, and accidental pulling of the spout out of the bag during transportation and handling is efiectually prevented by the prongs 12 and 13 clinched in the material of the bag and cardboard piece.

It will also be observed that the pouring opening may be formed of adequate capacity and that the spout may be made of a convenient and practical size.

While I have shown and described the invention as embodied in certain details of construction, it should be understood that this is primarily for illustrating the principles of the invention and that many modifications and changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A new article of manufacture comprising a bag whose walls are formed of thin, flexible and tearable material that is inherently incapable of supporting a metallic pouring spout and of resisting tearing incident to opening and closing of the spout, a plate of relatively thin, stifi and bendable non-metallic material that is tearable with difiiculty, said plate being positively and permanently secured in fiatwise abutting relation to the inner surface of said bag wall, said plate having a pair of approximately parallel slits extending therethrough and said bag wall having a slit in register with each of said slits in said plate, and a metallic pouring spout having an approximately re tangular body and sector-shaped wings, said wings projecting through said slits of said plate and said bag wall with the outer surface of each wing engaging the juxtaposed wall of the corresponding slit and with said body of the spout in overlying relation to the portions of said plate and said bag wall between said slits, the area of said plate being greater than the area of said body of the spout, means positively connecting said body of the spout to said portions of the bag wall and to said portions of the plate between said slits with the portion of the bag wall between said slits clamped between said body of the spout and said plate so that upon forcible outward pulling of one end of the spout, said portions of the plate and said portions of the bag wall will be torn outwardly by and with said body and bent at the other end of said body of the spout to form a pouring opening in the bag, whereafter said spout may be swung to open and close said opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,018,269 Ringer Feb. 20, 1912 1,901,858 Fischer Mar. 14, 1933 1,966,284 Brucker July 10, 1934 2,011,434 Brucker Aug. 13, 1935 2,069,738 Buchen Feb. 9, 1937 2,531,630 Jones Nov. 28, 1950 

